Nettle Leaf Helps Inflammatory Bowel Patients

Common Roadside Weed Has Health Benefits

Maxal Tamor/Shutterstock.com

Nettle, a common roadside weed, may offer hope for sufferers of inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis. Research from Iran’s University of Medical Sciences tested 59 patients with inflammatory bowel disease in a 12-week, double-blind clinical trial with an extract of nettle leaf (Urtica dioica). Those receiving the nettle leaf extract had lower blood levels of the C-reactive protein inflammatory marker along with a significant improvement in their inflammatory bowel disease quality-of-life scores.

Today’s barrage of junk food ads can easily influence kids for the worse, but 10 strategies, including visiting farmers’ markets, teaching cooking skills and implementing device-free family meals, can help them choose to eat better.